Pinball Wizard

The Who

Lyrics

Intro

Bm(droning riff with walkdown, see tab below)Bsus4 ... B ... x4

Verse

Bsus4B Ever since I was a young boy, I've played the silver ball
Asus4A From Soho down to Brighton, I must have played 'em all
Gsus4G But I ain't seen anything like him in any amusement hall
F# That deaf, dumb, and blind kid... sure plays a mean pinball
BB → A → D → E ... x2
He stands like a statue, becomes part of the machine
Feeling all the bumpers, always playing clean
Plays by intuition, the digit counters fall
That deaf, dumb, and blind kid... sure plays a mean pinball

Chorus

EF#B He's a pinball wizard
EF#B There has to be a twist
EF#BGDDsus4D A pinball wizard's got such a supple wrist

Bridge

DCadd9GDCadd9G How do you think he does it? I don't know
DCadd9GD What makes him--- so good?
Ain't got no distractions, can't hear no buzzers and bells
Don't see no lights a-flashing, plays by sense of smell
Always gets the replay, never seen him fall
That deaf, dumb, and blind kid... sure plays a mean pinball
I thought I was
The Bally table king
But I just handed my pinball crown to him

Ending Verse

(same as normal verse, but modulated up 3 half-steps)Dsus4 ... D ... x4Dsus4D Even on my favorite table, he can beat my best
Csus4C His disciples lead him in, and he just does the rest
Bbsus4Bb He's got crazy flipper fingers, never seen him fall
A That deaf, dumb, and blind kid... sure plays a mean pinball
DD → C → F → Bb(let ring)

Notes & Tabs

Intro Tab

This intro tab starts with a Bm shaped chord and with each measure makes a single change, with all the while you consistently picking the same bass note. Definitely listen along for reference.

After the F#, move to the Bsus4 → B progression used in the verse (which you'll repeat a few times before starting the verse proper).

Verse

Here's the general chord shaping you'll want to use for the verse, as well as the second half of the intro (where the heavy strumming comes in). The most important thing here is probably voicing that added sus4 note that comes and goes, so find a chord fingering style that works for you. Also, note that this same exact approach is used for the final verse -- which is modulated up 3 half-steps... basically, add 3 frets to everything you see here and you'll have it.

Bridge

In the bridge section, you'll want to do this simple walkdown from C to Cadd9 to G. You can also add a C/B in there too. Listen along, and check out the tutorial videos for reference. This is approximate, but should suffice.

Just after the "Sure played a mean pinball..." lyric

Song Info

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About

My name is David Potsiadlo, and I created Songnotes to share my collection of guitar tabs, chords, and lyrics for my favorite songs.

Since I started playing guitar over 10 years ago, I've often been frustrated by the preponderance of mediocre and incomplete song tabs littered across the internet. To combat this, I started keeping my own collection of notes for each song I learn -- always taking the extra time to make sure accuracy and completeness are never compromised. Years later, my collection grew to the point where I knew I had to share it online with fellow aspiring musicians.

In December 2012, I began designing & developing a website that became Songnotes. Here, I share my personal collection of hand-crafted music notation with all those online. I hope you enjoy.